Fool Me Once

“Spend the night,” I utter, and his eyes go wide.

He glances down at me. “What about Zane? I know you were concerned…”

“You’re his father. I’ve never had a man spend the night here before. He’ll be ecstatic to wake up to you being here.” As I say the words, my heart picks up speed—both out of excitement and fear. If we don’t work out, how will I explain to Zane that his daddy won’t be spending the night in the future? But then again, isn’t that what happens when two people divorce? It’s not ideal, but it doesn’t stop people from getting together. If it did, nobody would try. Keegan was right. I can’t think about the what-ifs. I need to live in the right now. And right now, I’m slowly falling in love with Keegan and want to sleep next to him—wake up next to him. Have breakfast with him and our son as a family. There are a million ways this can go wrong. I could be making the stupidest decision of my life. But what if it all goes right?

Keegan’s lips curl into a gorgeous grin. “I’d love that,” he admits, pulling us both down onto my pillows so we can snuggle closer. His arm encircles my waist, then he glides his hand down to my ass, squeezing my cheek and leaving it there. I laugh as my head finds a comfortable spot in the crook of his shoulder, and my hand finds its place on his hard chest. Closing my eyes, I think about how I could lie like this, in this position with Keegan, for the rest of my life. Maybe we’re rushing things. I don’t know. But right now, with my body wrapped up in his, I feel like where we are is exactly where we belong.

Keegan

“Mommy, my throat hurts.” A tiny hand smacks my back. “You’re not my mommy…” Silence and then, “Daddy!”

I chuckle and roll over to face Zane, who is standing next to the bed in his adorable SpongeBob pajamas and holding his Build-a-Bear I bought him. This must be the side of the bed Blakely sleeps on.

“Can I sleep with you?” he asks, his face taking on a sad little puppy dog look with his eyes widening and his bottom lip jutting out slightly. I’m not sure what Blakely allows, but she isn’t awake, and as I stare at his adorably sad face, I know I don’t stand a chance against this look. I can only hope he doesn’t hit me with it when he wants something I can’t give him.

“Sure, bud.” I pull him over me and lay him between Blakely and me, moving closer to the edge so there’s room for him. Sometime in the middle of the night, she rolled over and out of my arms. Her perfect round ass pushed against my crotch, and it took everything in me to simply hold her and not get lost in her.

Zane snuggles into my side, squishing the bear between us. He named it Bear and brings the thing everywhere he goes—except to school because Blakely told him he’s too young to go.

As he stares up at me, I remember what he said when he walked in here. “Does your throat still hurt?”

“It itches,” he says through a yawn, his eyes already falling closed.

I watch him and Blakely sleep for a few minutes, wondering what I did for karma to be on my side and be given this second chance. A minute later and Blakely might not have run into my brother. A second earlier and I might not have seen her from across the quad. But as fate would have it, we did see each other.

She was hesitant at first, and I couldn’t fault her for that. She was only trying to put our son first. But then she came around, giving me us a chance, and like the sparkler she is, she’s lit up every dark place in my life. For the last four years, I’ve been going through the motions, but now I’m ready to start living. And it’s all because of her and our son.

My cell phone dings, and I snatch it up so it doesn’t wake either of them. I had turned off my alarm earlier. I’m not sure what time Blakely and Zane wake up, but it’s seven in the morning and they’re both still sleeping.

I read the text from my dad, and my stomach drops. We got the information.

And with that one text, I can already feel the storm brewing. I look over at my son and the woman I want to spend my life with, and I say a silent prayer that what we’re building is enough to weather the storm that is on the horizon.

“Zane, sweetie, you have to wake up.”